CITY LIFE

Papa and his little girl made the rounds of their favorite shops. He took her to the CVS, a plain old CVS store. She liked the fragrance aisle. They bought various scents in all forms, liguid, oils and candles. Annie said 'thank you' to the woman and took the bag. The woman even smiled at her. What a nice twosome they made, the  handsome executive and his little girl. Then it was over to The Limited for Girls for some stylish, colorful outfits. The sales lady helped her in the fitting room. Annie liked the way the tops and bottoms looked. She posed in front of the mirror and as children are wont to do, she was not too careful. The sales lady saw one of her tiny fangs and said - Uh oh, somebody's got a new big permanent tooth! You gotta start takin' care now!...Annie looked up at her assuring the woman that she would. After, it was a quick trip to the supermarket. What did they need there? Nothing. Maybe a few dust clothes to tidy up their quarters at the museum, a bit of this, a bit of that. But they liked to watch mortals buying food,especially the plump, plastic wrapped chunks of red, moist meat. Papa said it was like an appetizer. Annie licked her chops and agreed that it was. So when they found the fat, sloppy pretzel vendor packing his wares into a little vehicle parked in a dark alley they were ready. The guy said - Sorry, folks. Done for the day.....It was about six thirty in the evening and he liked to stay open till just after the rush hour. Annie made a sad face and said - Awwww.... The pretzel man felt sorry for the little girl and gave her one of the three lonely pretzels left. The other two were 'no good', meaning he'd probably handled them with his contaminated fingers after pissing up that alley. She took the semi-stale, starchy treat and licked a bit at the salt (vampires can do that. there's lots of salt in blood after all). The man smiled. Papa said - Thank you my good man......He looked down at his 'daughter ' and whispered - What do you say?......She bashfully responded - Thaaank yooou..... The pretzel guy told her she was welcome. Then he went back to packing up his vehicle. That was his mistake. But in truth, there was nothing he could have done to prevent things. Papa was on him in an instant, pinning his arms behind  his back. There was not even time to scream, as the alpha-vampire's  fangs tore into his flesh. The blood rushed out. Papa took a little for himself, then motioned to Annie, who quickly 'jumped to' and took possession of the meal. Papa wiped his lips (there was never much. real vampires are not sloppy) and he smiled and smoothed back her hair as she greedily finished her dinner. There would be opportunities galore for him to  dine later. Perhaps after two in the morning when the clubs let out. The streets were a vertual smorgasbord then. And who knows? If he got hungry in the interim, well then maybe he'd bite into a succulent drug pusher or two. He knew just where to find them.  Annie retrieved a small keychain from the vendor's greasy residue. She liked the shiny plastic and the colors advertising some casino or another and she carefully stowed it in her new, little pocketbook (also bought at The Limited for Girls.)  Then they picked up their packages and were off. She'd go back to the museum, where the night crew (all safely 'made' into 'familiars') played with her and entertained her among the almost dark, deserted galleries featuring possessions of the dead. Papa would continue his nightly patrol slurping up the flavors of the city. But he was beginning to appreciate the wisdom of the others. It was just more convenient to snap up an evil-doer, for they wouldn't really be missed. Less questions. No fuss. Quick and easy. Oh, he was still quite crazy and drunk on this new liberation (centuries in a Vatican uber-dungeon can grow quite tedious). He was still prone to make mistakes, but considering his great powers (sublimation, the instantaneous transportation of enemies to torturous climes) what did he care. Yet we live in a technological age. Eyes are everywhere. And detailed records are meticulously kept. Top people in Catholic hierarchies the world over were pressed into service looking for the exotic escapee. And if they were innocent concerning the escapee's true nature, they still cooperated. The noose was beginning to tighten. And American, Anti-Enchantment Agents, were starting to pick up on things as well....